CHAPTER III. 



STRUCTURE OP THK EGG. 



IN order to obtain a clear idea of the structure 

 of the egg, to the study of which the present 

 chapter invites us, the reader may provide him- 

 self with a few eggs of the common barn-door 

 fowls. Taking one of these into the hand, and 

 gently tapping it with any hard body, it will be 

 possible after a few trials to separate a part of the 

 shell from the white membrane beneath. By a 

 little patient management, the broken pieces may 

 be detached even without opening the egg, for 

 a space of the size of a sixpence ; but in so 

 doing the utmost caution is necessary, as an 

 unlucky thrust of the nail or penknife employed 

 to separate the shell would rend the delicate 

 membrane which it protects, and permit a part of 

 the contents of the white of the egg to escape. 



